The National Wallace Monument

You'll spot the tower long before you reach it - a Victorian spike rising 220 feet above the Abbey Craig, dominating the Stirling skyline like some grand stone finger pointing at the clouds. This is William Wallace's monument, built in the 1860s to honour the Scottish freedom fighter, and it's impossible to ignore once you've clocked it from anywhere in town.

The climb is proper knackering - 246 steps up a spiral staircase in a space barely wider than your shoulders - but the view from the top justifies every breathless moment. You're looking straight down at Stirling Castle, across the Forth Valley, and on a clear day the vista stretches for miles. The monument houses a sword reputedly belonging to Wallace himself, which feels appropriately dramatic for a man who's become more legend than flesh over the centuries.

This works best for walkers and history types who don't mind a strenuous ascent. Kids will either love the climb-and-reward aspect or complain bitterly halfway up - judge your own accordingly. Budget an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're lingering over the views or reading the exhibition panels thoroughly.

It's free to wander the grounds, though climbing the tower costs a few quid. The monument sits just outside Stirling proper, making it a natural pairing with a park stay at Witches Craig - only a mile away - and you can easily combine it with Stirling Castle and the old town's narrow streets in a day.